Life-saving device



l. A. HEBERT.

LIFE SAVING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 26, 1919.

Pzitented July 20, 1920.

3 SHEETSSHEET l.

3 [A Hebert I. A. HEBERT.

LIFE SAVING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 26. 1919.

1,347,372. I Patented July 20, 1920.

-- 3 SHEETS-SHEET Z. I

2; I.A.He,berZ

IN-VEN TOR.

@ZZWM ATTORNEY.

l'. A HEBERTJ LIFE SAVING DEVICE- APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 26,- 1919.

1,347,372; PamntedJuly20, 1920.

- 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- IO 2 l8 I. Hebert 5 WITNE S.- INVENTOR.

BY v ATTORNEY.

VFUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IGNATIEUS A, HEBERT, on NEW onLnAns, LOUISIANA, A'SSIGNOIR, TO THE HEBERT LIFE SAVING DEVICE 00,, 11510,, on NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, A CORPORATION 01 LOUISIANA.

IFnsAvING nnvrcn.

Specification of Letters Patent. I Patented July 20, 1920.

Application filed September 26, 1919. Serial No. 326,468.

To all whom it may concern Be itknown that I, IGNATIEU'S A. HEBERT, a citizen of the United States, residing'at New Orleans, in the parish of Orleans and State of Louisiana, have invented new and useful Improvements in Life-Saving Devices, 'of which the following is a specification.

'The object of the device is to provide a safety appliance for use in connection with automobiles and similar motor driven vehicles designed not only to act as a fender but also a means for grasping, holding and supporting the body of. a pedestrian en-,

countered by the machinefor the purpose of avoiding the casualties ordinarily resulting from collision, and to this end the invention consists in a construction, combination and relation of parts of which a preferred embodiment is illustrated'in the accompanying drawings, it being understood that changes in the form, proportion and details, particularly as to the mounting and means of attachment, may be resorted to within the scope of theappended claims, without departing from the principles involved.

. In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front view of the apparatus applied in the operative position to an automobile.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same.

I Fig. 3 is a side view.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section on the plane indicated by the line 4. l of Fig. 1. V I

Fig. 5 is a detail front view of one end of the apparatus to show particularly the means by which the grappling arms are normally restrained or held in their housed position. X

Fig. 6 is adetail side view of the construetion illustrated in Fig. 5. v,

Fig. 7 is a detail view of one of the grappling arms attached.

F ig, 8 is a similar view of one end'ofthe retainingmember. 4 i

In order that the apparatus may be applied as an attachment to automobiles and similar vehicles, now in use, it preferably embodies a frame or housing. 10 supported from the running gear by means of braces 11 which may have a certain degree of resilience, suflicient to resist a shock tending to displace the same, but adapted to yield in order to cushion jars applied rearwardly to the housing as by contact with an object obstructing the path of the machine, and pivotally mounted as at 12 and adapted normally to be retained within said frame or housing are the grappling arms 13 preferabl of looped form so as to afford a relatively broad bearing surface for contact with the body of person that may be engaged thereby in the-event of acollision.

' springs 18 which not only serve to close the arms or cause them to swing in opposite directions toward an object located between them, but 'to cause a compensatory movement of said arms, so that if the object so encountered is to'one side of the center of the apparatus, thus restraining one of the arms, the other will describe a greater are so as to cooperate with the restrained arm in effectively grasping the body of a pedestrian that may be encountered in the progress of the machine.

Connected operatively with the rockerformingan element of the above mentioned retaining means for the grapping arms is an impact member adapted for contact with the person or other object in the .path of the machine and consisting in the construction illustrated of a transverse bar or rod 20,,

grappling arms when the latter have been re leased and closed around a body encountered by the machine so as to afford a rest or support for the body so engaged by the grapence to Fig. 3 of the drawin wherein, in dotted lines there is shown t e body of a pedestrian engaged by the grappling arms and in a position to be caught up and assume a sitting position upon the impact member 20.

In practice it is preferred to extend. the

supporting arms downward from the cross bar constituting the body of the rocker 14, and to provide said arms with bumpers or stop rods 22 extending rearwardly therefrom for terminal contact with the front of the machine or other fixed objects, so as to limit the rearward or repressive movement of the impact member and thus prevent the withdrawal of said member from beneath thespace embraced by the grappling arms when closed or in their operative or grappling position; The impact member is yieldingly held in its normal or advanced position byimeans of a spring 25 arranged in or adjacent to the housing and bearing againsta rear bracket 24 thereof, and this spring in addition to holding the impact "member advanced serves to maintain the arm retaining means 1n engaging position with reference to the terminal ears 17 of the arm, and also serves to'readvance the impact member and thus force it under the pedestrian engaged by the grappling arm, immediately following the impact which serves to move said impact member subject to limitation by the bumpers'or stops 22, for the purpose of lifting the body of the pedestrian or catching it up so as to support. it. when engaged by the grappling arms. In other words while. the spring 23 which serves to actuate the rocker and the impact member is adapted to permit of a suflicient yielding movement of the latter to release the grappling arms, it immediately returns the said impact member to a position which will enable it to perform the further function above mentioned of supporting the body of the pedestrian encountered by the machine.

What I claim is 1. A safety device for automobiles having laterally movable cooperating grappling arms for grasping the body of a person with which the vehicle collides, and an impact member movable rearwardly upon engagement with an object in the pathof the vehicle for controlling the movement of the grappling arms, said impact member consistingof'a crossbar and suspendmg arms and belng y eldingly held in and returned to its 7 advanced position subsequent toimpact with an object. I r V 2. A'safety device for automobiles having laterally movable cooperating pivotal grappling arms, for grasping the body of a person with which the vehicle may collide and connected by a common spring to permit oftheir meeting atdifferent points in their path of movement, and 1 an impact member located below the plane of said arms and movable rearwardly upon engagementwith an object in the path of thevehicle for controlling the movement of thegrappling arms. 1 r

, 3. A safety device for automobiles having spring actuated independently pivoted grappling arms, means for normally restraining the arms and a ieldin 1m 'act member for V 7 :3 l actuatmgsaid means to release the arms for.

independent 7 movement in paths determinable in extentby an: interposed obstacle, said member havmg a supporting element located below the planeand coextensive with the path of movement of thearms and yieldingly held in advance of the normal positions thereof and beneath the space embraced thereby when closed; i

A. A safety (lGVlCQ'fOI automobiles having spring actuated pivotal grappling arms, re

straining means COIlSlStlDg of a rocker havv mg shoulders for engag ng-said grappling;

arms, a nd a yielding impact member carried by said rocker in advance thereof.

5. A safety device for automobiles having a housing, yielding means for supporting the same from the running gear of a vehicle, spring actuated pivotal grappling arms mounted in the housing,'a restrainingmean's having a rocker provided with shouldersfor engaging said arms, and a yielding impact member supported by the rocker in advance;

thereof for communicating arm releasing' movement thereto.

6. A safety device for automobiles having spring actuated grappling arms, restraining means for normally holding the grappling arms 1n thelr lnoperative posltlon, and con- 7 sisting of a rocker for normally engaging the same, acushioned rearwardly movable impact member depending from saidrocker and arranged below-the plane of the grap pling arms, cushion springs for promptly returning said impact member to 'its'normal position'after repression by contact with an opposing object, and means for limiting the rearward movement of the impact member.

In testimony whereof I affix my'lsi nature.

; IGNATIEUS 11: Hunter. 

